Small lamp reflector



Oct. 13, 1942.

L. L. RAYMOND SMALL LAMP REFLECTOR Filed April '7, 1939 MW M, WW W my m f. i J

Patented Oct. 13, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

ing about its central opening to prevent short circuiting of the lamps. Much inventive eifort has been placed on these bushings.

It is an object of this invention to provide a Christmas tree reflector made of very light material and one which is very simple and inexpens1ve.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a simple and efiicient Christmas tree reflector having a novel and simple means at the center thereof forming the insulating bushing about the opening in the reflector through which the plug of a lamp passes, said means comprising layers of flexible material.

It is another object of the invention to provicie a reflector made of very thin metal having a concave front surface with a highly reflective coat of colored lacquer or enamel thereon, said reflector having a series of points or petal-like divisions about its edge, said divisions forming zones in said reflectors and being divided by lines extending radially of said reflector, the zones being of concave or trough-shaped form between said lines, together with layers of tough, flexible paper-like material at each side of the reflector extending about the central opening therein and secured together inwardly of said opening.

It is still another object of the invention to provide such a reflector as set forthin the .pre-

ceding paragraph in which the said layers of flexihle material conform to the shape of said reflector and said divisions thereof.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be fully set forth in the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawing in which like reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views and in which Fig. 1 is a view in front elevation showing one,

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 4 as indicated by the arrows;

Fig. 7 is a vertical section taken on line 7-1 of Fig. 5 as indicated by the arrows; and

Fig. 8 is a View showing the reflector of Fig. 4 in operative relation to a lamp socket and lamp.

Referring to the drawing, particularly Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 5, a reflector I0 is shown which will be made of very thin sheet material such as metal and preferably made from one piece of sheet metal, pressed or molded into the desired form. As shown in Fig. 2 the reflector is of general conical'or concavo-convex form and is symmetrical about a central horizontal axis as clearly seen in Fig. I. Said reflector has a plurality of zones Ifla having outer curved or rounded and convex edges, said zones being separated by radial lines Hlb. Each zone has a concave or trough-shaped surface which is symmetrical about a line extending radially and centrally of said zone. Said reflector has a central opening I00 adapted to have pass therethrough a plug portion Ha of a lamp II, the glass bulb portion Nb of which is disposed atthe outer side of the reflector when the reflector and lamp are held in operative relation to a socket I2 as shown in Fig. 8. Conductors I3 are shown as extending to socket I2 and said socket is shown as having the usual sleeve I2a and tip contact I212. A layer of tough flexible paper or paper-like sheet material I 4 extends about opening Illc and is provided with adhesive at one side by means of which it is secured to the surface of reflector H3. Another piece of similar material of the same form as member I4 extends about opening I00 at the rear of the reflector and is secured thereto by adhesive on said member I5. Said members M and I5 are of annular form and at their inner edges they extend inwardly beyond opening I00 of the reflector and are secured together by the adhesive thereon inwardly of opening Illc as shown at Ma in Figs. 5 and 7. Members I4 and I5 also have central openings therein so that their connected portions shown at I Go have a central opening I512 therethrough which is of smaller diameter than the opening in reflector I0. When the reflector is mounted to its form and the concave or trough-shaped surfaces formed in the zones Illa, the members I4 and I5 are conformed to the shape of these zones so that the trough in each zone continues through the members I4 and I5 and the straight lines lilb dividing the zones also extend through the members I4 and I5 to the opening I So, The shape of the members I4 and I5 can be readily seen in Fig. 3.

In Figs. 4 and 5, a somewhat different form of reflector is shown in which the portions Iila struction is the same as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 including the members l4 and [5, with the opening [5a therein.

While various materials might be used, in practice the reflectors have been made of very thin sheet aluminum, the same having an enameled or lacquered surface having a highly reflective surface. This lacquer or enamel is made of difierent colors. While members l4 and I5 might be made of various kinds of thin flexible adhesive material, in practice ithas been found The rear portion of the lamp bulb llb engages the member V I4 and the members It and 15 at the portion Ma conform to the curvature of the lamp bulb and are pressed firmly against the end of the socket. The reflector is thus very firmly held in place.

The members Hi and 15 are of insulating mate rial and form a very efficient bushing so that there is no danger of short circuiting the lamp by the reflector. It will be readily seen that by flattening members 14 and I5 and the folds or convolutions therein, that the diameter of the opening through said members will be increased.

From the above description it is seen that I have provided a very simple reflector having a very simple and eflicient form of bushing thereon. The metal used is quite thin and the reflector can be easily stamped or pressed to the desired form. The material of members [4 and I5 being flexible, the same conforms to the shape of the reflector. It will be noted that there is no flat portion at the center of the reflector extending in a plane perpendicular to the axis thereof. The material for members l4 and I5 is quite inexpensive and can be quite easily made and applied. The reflector gives a very pleasing and highly ornamental effect when used with an illuminated lamp and forms a highly decorative feature for a tree when the lamps are not illuminated. The trough-shaped surfaces of portions or zones Hia cause shadows to be cast along certain parts thereof and the high light lines or reflections extend substantially radially of the portions ma and adjacent the centers thereof. This combination of high lights and shadows is very effective and the same varies, of course, with the position of the reflector relative to the observer. The reflector having the different colors and being quite mirror-like in its reflecting qualities, gives varied and beautiful effects with different colored lights. The reflective effect is very striking. The members l4 and I5 are of quite thin material and do not add appreciably to the thickness of the reflector which, as stated, is made from very thin metal. The thickness is somewhat exaggerated in the drawing since it is difiicult to show the device thin with a plurality of lines. There is a particular combinative relation, therefore, between the thin metal used in the reflector and the parts l4 and ['5 used for the bushing. The reflector has been amply demonstrated in actual practice, found to be very successful and eflicient and is being commercially made.

This application is a continuation in part of applicants copending application S. N. 125,747, filed February 15, 1937, on Christmas tree reflector structure for all parts common thereto.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangement and proportions of the parts, without departing from the scope of applicants invention, which generally stated, consists in a device capable of carrying out the objects above set forth, in the parts and combinations of parts disclosed and defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A reflector for Christmas trees comprising a sheet of very thin metal having a polished surface, said sheet being of general concavo-convex form and symmetrical about a central axis, said reflector having regular circumferentially spaced convolutions therein and having a central opening and a layer of thin tough flexible insulating paper having adhesive on one side secured to each side of said reflector about said opening and extending inwardly of said opening, said layers being secured together by said adhesive inwardly of said opening and having an opening therethrough smaller than and concentric with said first mentioned opening adapted to receive the plug portion of a lamp, said layers acting to insulate said sheet from said plug portion.

2. A reflector for Christmas trees comprising a sheet of quite thin metal having a surface of high reflecting quality, said sheet being of general concavo-convex form and symmetrical about a central axis and having an aperture therethrough, a thin sheet of non-metallic flexible insulating material secured to each side of said portion by adhesive, said sheets extending inwardly of said aperture having an aperture therethrough of smaller diameter than said first mentioned aperture and axially alined therewith, said sheets thus extending within said first mentioned aperture and being secured together within said first mentioned aperture, said reflector having a plurality of similar zones divided along radial lines, each zone having a front trough-shaped surface curved about a radially extending axis, said lines and trough-shaped surfaces extending to and through said sheets of insulating material,

3. A reflector for Christmas trees made of very thin sheet material and having a serrated edge symmetrical about a vertical axis, said reflector being of concavo-convex form and provided with radial folds or creases the concave side forming the front thereof, said reflector having a central opening therethrough, sheets of thin flexible fabric insulating material secured to each side of said reflector about said opening and secured together within said opening, the same having an opening therethrough smaller than said opening and substantially coaxial therewith, said radial folds of said reflector being continued through said last mentioned sheets to the opening therein, whereby the opening through said last mentioned sheets may be enlarged by flattening or expanding said folds.

LAMBERT L. RAYMOND. 

